Payback in the Garden
by comintrix
Summary: When Ivy finds Harley in an unconscious heap and brings her home, Harley decides that she's had enough. With a little coaxing from her red-haired beauty, a plan is forming for payback.
1. Finding Harley

I couldn't open my eyes, but I felt myself being lifted.

"Stay with me, Harley." I heard a voice that was familiar to me. Ivy. I was being cradled by her. My head sat on the front of her shoulder and I could feel her heartbeat on my cheek. It always amazed me how someone as petite as Ivy was could carry me around or withstand a blow from Bats. She is an amazing woman. I felt myself settle into her and I guess I fell asleep.

The next thing I know, I was waking up and feeling like I had been hit by a truck. I fluttered my eyes open as they adjusted to the dim lights in the room, but my left eye remained mostly closed. I looked around me as my body ached from the movement. I recognized some of Ivy's favourite potted plants on the shelves and side tables. And then I saw her back as she was leaning over her work counter.

"Red?" My voice surprised me as it scratched and hitched.

"Welcome back to Gotham, Harley. How do you feel?"

"Awful." She finally turned away from her counter and walked to me with a bowl in her hand.

"Whassat, Red?" I was getting used to the aches and I rolled over so that I could face her better.

"This? This is a magic mixture, Harley. Made special for you." She pulled a chair next to her bed where I was laid.

"Whacha gonna do with it?" I noticed that I was grinning a little. Ivy always made me smile. She was so good to me.

"Lay back down and relax Harley." I did as she told me. I mostly always did. She usually knew best anyway. When I laid back down, she took some goop out of the bowl and started rubbing it on my face. She started with my chin and jaw and I realized how sore they were until she started putting her mix on them.

"Hey Red, this is really nice." I sounded high, which made me chuckle. I saw Ivy smile lightly as she hummed in response. I closed my eyes as she put a whole bunch of the slime on my eyes. She rubbed it on my apparently broken nose and tapped the tip of it as she finished and most of the pain was gone.

"This smells really nice, Red. What is it?"

"Oh, it's many things. All of the best healing herbs and analgesic plants around. But just for you, the scent of Lily of the Valley. I knew you'd love it." I noticed that I was not wearing my suit anymore and was instead in one of Ivy's t-shirts. She lifted it to the middle of my torso and started rubbing her hands covered in the plant stuff over my belly and bottom ribs.

"Whatsa anniegezic, Red?" I giggled as her fingers tickled my skin. I think she moved her nails that way on purpose.

"Painkiller, Harley. And its analgesic." She sounded out the syllables for me as she smiled.

"There." She said as she ran a towel over her hands.

"Better?" She asked, turning her chair to face my head.

"You're the best, Red!" I reached up and pulled her down to hug me. It still hurt, but it was so much nicer to have Ivy close.

"Careful or you'll hurt more." She cautioned me. She loosed my arms from around her slightly, but put her arms softly around my neck and kissed my cheek where she lingered for a while. Eventually, she pulled away and brushed my hair away from my face as she sat back in her chair.

"Harley, I hate to ask, I really do, but what the hell happened?"

"Whacha mean?" I asked without thinking, still swimming in the scent of the special mix and Ivy's hair.

"Harley, you're only lucky that I found you instead of the cops, or worse Batman. What did _he_ do to you this time?" She hissed like Catwoman at the he. I knew which he she was talking about. I didn't want to think about it. I couldn't really remember much of it anyway.

"I don't remember, Red. Can't we just cuddle up and forget about it?" I tried not to sound too glum and it sort of worked. It wasn't enough to fool Red, though. She is one clever girl and I know it probably better than almost anyone.

"Are you sure that you don't remember anything that happened, Harley? Anything at all? How did you end up on the main road at two in the morning in a heap of hurt? Maybe it was Batman. I suppose that I shouldn't always assume that it's the clown's fault." She walked to the other side of her bed and gently climbed in.

"I dunno, maybe it was him. I don't think it was though. Usually even Bats doesn't beat me up as bad as Mista-" My peppiness stopped suddenly and I could suddenly remember everything that had happened earlier instead of just little bits. I hic'ed a few times as I felt myself start to cry.

"Harley-" Ivy sat up next to me leaning on her elbow and side.

"Re-e-eeed!" I reached out blindly, my eyes were filled with tears. I really wished that there were times that I could spend with Harley that didn't start with me needing medical care or bawling like and idiot. I felt her hands lift me to her and her arms wrap firmly around me. She stroked my neck and I felt her hand firmly on my lower back. I fumbled to put my arms around her as I held on for dear life. I was scared.

"Harley, will you tell me what he did?" I gasped a few times until I got control of my breath again.

"Well, Mista J was workin on a big machine. I was sitting with him and I was bein quiet like he likes but the thing started sparking up and I had to push him out of the way or he woulda got hurt. I guess it wasn't actually gonna hurt him cause he got mad..." I trailed off. I knew that she knew how the story ended. The evidence had been under her hands a few minutes ago. The evidence was pressed up against her now.

"Harley, can I ask how many times I need to take you away from him after this? I really would like some sort of guide to you." She stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. "I really don't want to find you...you know...next time." I didn't feel her breathe for a few seconds. I held her tighter.

"You gotta keep me away from him, Red. You just gotta." She sighed and laid me down. I sat up, still achy. She took my shoulders in her hands.

"You need to stay away this time, Harley. Can you do it? I can't see you go back to that again. You wont survive another...attack like this."

"I promise, Red! I don't need him!" I smiled big, feeling more like myself.

"Good girl." She said. I saw her trying to suppress a smile. She carefully and slowly pulled me to her and kissed my forehead. I felt my stomach flutter happily and build in anticipation until I felt her lips on me. The fluttering exploded into a giggle which made her draw back slightly so I could see her smiling before she kissed me quickly once more on the forehead. When she sat back in front of me, I leaned forward on my arms and smiled dreamily. She chuckled lightly at me.

"You know how I know I'm not goin back this time?" I smiled with a closed mouth playfully.

"Why's that, Harl?" She played right along.

"Cause I lov-" Ivy smiled and put her finger to my lips.

"-you!" I finished quickly with a smirk as she took her finger away, knowing that she had filled in the blank. She didn't like it when I said it, but she never hit me for it. Instead, she leaned in and kissed me on the lips. She lingered on my lips and I melted into her. She held me up and pulled me closer with a finger under my chin. I grinned as she kissed me.

We breathed slowly for a while, savouring the taste of each other and not breaking away from the other's lips. I felt the aches in my face and stomach fade to nothing. It was as if she was kissing away my pain.

Eventually, way too soon if you ask me, she pulled away from me. She ran her hands down my arms and took my fingers into her palms. She stared at me with a shine in her eye. I noticed the little grin that she tried to (and always failed to) hide when she was around me. She kissed the back of my right hand.

"I have an idea, Harls." She said while still looking down at my hand. I giggled as her breath tickled my wrist.

"What?" I asked excited.

"I say we go find the clown...and give him a toxic taste in his mouth." She had a mischievous look to her whole being at that moment. I felt my whole body flutter at that look.

"I agree." I said, putting on my best play of seduction.

"But not tonight. First, I wanna play in the garden." I painted a little circle on her collar bone with my finger. I pushed her back softly with every round. She reached up and curled my hair around her hand and fingers.

"My garden." She said as she turned me took charge and pushed me onto my back. She reached to her bedside table and plucked a petal from one of her roses. She laid beside me and ran the petal over my cheek as she blew softly into my hair. She traced the petal along my jaw, then neck, then collarbone, then...

* * *

_**Soo, whacha think?**_

_**Did you know that the creators of the series said that all of those little hints that made you think the girls were, you know, together, were intentional?**_

_**I love it. **_

_**There should be a few more pieces to this. I actually know exactly what I want to do. **_

_**So let me know if I'm doing a good job in a review? Please please please? Thanks!  
**_


	2. Unpleasant Thoughts

I woke to the sun laying on my face. I smiled to find the blonde hair tousled over my belly and the weight of a head laying on my ribs. I stroked Harley's face softly and watched her smile in her sleep. I hoped that her dreams were not about the clown.

"Mornin' Red." I snapped out of my thoughts and saw her sweet face staring at me. I shuffled us both until I could kiss her on the nose. She giggled and my stomach jumped as I felt a smile creep over my face.

"You're pretty when you smile." She giggled again. "Can we stay here?" I pecked her on the lips and hummed affirmative.

And we did stay just like that for as long as I could allow it. It ran through my mind on and off what we had to do until it finally forced me to move from beneath Harley. I heard her whine like a toddler when I lifted her head from me and sat up beside her.

"I don't wanna get up, Red. I don't wanna do anything." I sighed. I felt badly for her; we both knew what I had been thinking about. And we both knew that the outcome would be unpleasant.

I knew that I wanted the Joker dead. If I were more cynical, I would take his head as a souvenir. It was the only way that I could be absolutely sure that Harley would not go back to him or feel sorry for him or be stolen away from me by him. It was also, quite frankly, the only fair punishment for what he had done to her. I couldn't care less what he had done to the rest of humanity. I was no angel in that sense myself, so it would be hypocritical to be upset. He had, however, hurt Harley over and over and worse each time. He had never loved her and he had never felt even an ounce of the affection that she smothered over him.

It was me that she had come to when he became violent. I was the one who found her all of the times that she couldn't walk after being beaten. It was my garden of rarities spawned in this metropolis hell that healed her body. And, she had told me often through sleepy words that it was me who healed her beyond her body. When she is thinking straight, its always me that makes her who she truly is.

When the clown is involved, she is no longer thinking straight. Her mind goes into some sort of short circuit that I cannot fully understand. And then, she is somehow able to ignore the things that he does. The things that he says to her have only joyful meanings in her mind.

The thing about him that perhaps bothers me most, is that he can do all of that, and I can do everything that I love doing for her, and she will still love him blindly and indefinitely. It is painful, in honesty, when I am caring for her or making her feel wonderful and all she can talk about or think of is him. I can never be good enough as long as he is alive for her mind to wonder to. Soon though, it will be my game, my affection, and forevermore, my Harley.

Harley's lips left my forehead and landed briefly on my lips. She backed away and smiled wide and happy.

"Stop thinking! You make me nervous!" She pecked my lips again. I cupped her chin as she pulled away.

"Harley-" I swept my fingers and her hair behind her ear. I rested my hands on her shoulders. "Harley, you do understand what I need to do, don't you?" She shook her head violently as she backed away.

"I don't wanna hear about it. I don't wanna know. Please?" She looked up with glassy, pleading eyes and I pulled her head into my shoulder and stroked her hair.

"However you want it, Harley."

The hours were uneventful until the sun set. I worked on my experiments, or at least I tried to. Harley read magazines, but got bored eventually and ended up cuddling in my lap as I worked around her. I hadn't been working that hard anyway. My mind was elsewhere.

When Harley fell asleep against my breast around sunset, I picked her up and cradled her until I could set her down on the bed. I decided to stop my work and ready myself for the night. It was a special night indeed so I took the time to make my hair and light makeup look just right. I watched myself grin in that maniacal way as I applied my poison red lipstick. My grin grew when I stepped into my suit. I struggled a bit with the zipper until I felt a set of hands lay over mine slowly.

"Let me zip you up." Harley said softly with an eerie lack of emotion or her personality in her voice. I tried not to move as a shiver run up my spine.

"Harley, are you going to be alright?" She slid the zipper up my back without answering.

"You don't have to come out with me tonight, Harley. It might be better if you stay here."

"I do need to come with you." She said with the same dead voice. I turned and kissed her lightly. When I pulled away, I saw her look down and her face was blank. I felt the same shiver run up my spine. I decided not to push her any further on the subject and allowed her time and space to ready herself.

I didn't know what exactly I was going to do yet. I assumed that the answer would change as the situation unfolded. I rifled through my vast outlook of potions and poison and looked over my many seeds until I had built what would be to most people, a terrifying assortment of solutions to the problem. I hid them away and waited.

Harley emerged from the washroom wearing her harlequin jumpsuit, but did not have her jester hood on. She had her hair pulled up into pigtails hastily and was pulling her black mask onto her face. She hadn't applied her white cream face paint. I think she might have been suffering with her identity as the Joker's Harley Quinn and what she was outside of that persona. Taking her out of the tragic harlequin would be a slow process, but she had started it by herself.

I walked to her when she stopped moving and took her into an embrace. She was motionless and unresponsive in my arms. I rubbed her back to soothe myself as much as her. As I released her, I took her hand and led us out the door.

The roads of the city seemed darker than usual. There was a light fog forming below us. We stayed in the shadows and moved swiftly through alleys. I rarely let go of Harley's hand. I knew my way to where the Joker was. I remembered it well from where I had found Harley the day before. I bet I could find the blood stains if I looked.

When the warehouse came into view, Harley lead the way to a remote entrance. She sped gracefully through the halls until we came to the center production area. At a control panel sat a green haired freak. We crept to stand below his overhang. I scattered my seeds on the ground and readied a vial between my fingers. I handed Harley a handkerchief and she took the hint to cover her mouth and nose.

I threw the vial up and heard it shatter above me. The orange fog quickly filled the area and my seeds sprung to life. I urged them upward with me and I moved out of the way as they entangled the Joker.

"You." He ground his teeth.

"Me." I ran my finger over my lips and took up some of my lipstick. I leaned in close and smothered his lips with my lipstick. I saw him begin to squirm and I knew that his face was starting to burn. I grinned, amused with the struggle.

"You should be fine. It would seem that you like pain." I placed a hand on his chest and leaned on it. "Or- is it other people's pain that gives you a thrill?" I slapped him across the face.

"You bitch." He snarled through clenched teeth.

"Ah ah, those aren't very kind words. You should learn to control your mouth." My voice turned from teasing to angry as I reached for a vial and broke it against his forehead. The liquid rolled down his face leaving steaming purple rivers in his snow pale skin. The chemical steam mixed with blood from the skin with shards of the broken vial. He seethed, but said nothing.

"What makes you think that you deserved her affection?" I asked, trying to look as tall and imposing as I could. He stared back confused. I slapped him twice.

"What makes you think that you deserve Harley? What makes you think that you are so big that you can treat her that way?" I screamed through a clenched jaw.

Suddenly, I felt my body stiffen and my mind stopped. When I could think again, I found myself falling to the floor. I twitched helplessly and smelled burnt flesh. From my spot paralyzed on the floor, I saw my plants slacken. The clown ran a sleeve over his face and clawed out most of the glass.

"I knew you were there." I tried to speak, but all I could hear was myself sputtering strange sounds as I continued to twitch.

"I set this device on a timer. I assumed you would be up here soon enough. Turns out three minutes was just right. Its actually a malfunction that caused that spark. How does it feel to be taken down by a malfunction? How does it feel?" He screamed the last question into the air.

"That girl was a malfunction; all too often a hitch in my plans. She is always ruining things for me and when she isn't destroying something, she is all over me. I can't even think!" He hit a button on the console and I was struck again by the spark.

"Every day, she ruins something or she breaks something or she does _something_ wrong! You need to fix a malfunction or it will ruin everything." He hit the button once more, thankfully the shock was smaller. "I fixed her. I tried anyway. A device, I can fix. A problem, I can solve it. A malfunction, I can remedy it. But that girl, that girl was something that could not be fixed, no matter how many times that I tried to fix it. There is no remedy for her, no solution!" He reached for the console again and I braced myself.

A loud sound echoed through the factory suddenly. At first I could not recognize the sound, but it became apparent when the Joker fell to his knees and slapped his head onto the console before slumping over awkwardly. Blood seeped from his hair and began to run down his back. Behind him on the platform a few yards back stood Harley, stunned in place. She held a pistol between her hands and was in a ready stance to shoot. But she wasn't ready to shoot, she had already shot.

The few minutes that it took me to regain use of my muscles was torture. I saw her standing there, unable to move and I felt myself try over and over to move to her.

Finally, I felt weak motion returning to my hands and then my arms and then my torso. My legs were not responding yet. I pulled myself to her somehow and reached up as high as I could. I bent her until I could grab the gun and I tossed it across floor. I pulled her onto the floor with me and stared at her.

"Harley, stay with me." I put my hands limply on her shoulders.

"Harley, please help me back to my plants. Help us get away from here. I'll do anything if you'll just get us out of here." Luckily, I felt her help me up and link me onto her back.

As I sat on Harley like a backpack, I looked back and watched the body seem to shrink as we got further away. Harley had shot the Joker, her "Mista' J". I did not know if she did it to protect me or because she felt that she needed to or because he was bad talking her. I tried not to think about it. The Joker was dead.

* * *

**_I hope this is exciting, I'm trying to keep the girls in character. _**

**_Let me know if you like this! Reviews are exciting. _**

**_There should be one...maybe two full chapters after this and one epilogue. :)  
_**


	3. A Visitor's Promise

The last thing I remember is pulling the trigger. She was going to die. He was going to kill her. I just wanted him to stop; I didn't want to kill him. But I had closed my eyes as I was pulling the trigger.

I snapped back into the world some time later to the sound of a knock on the door and the feeling of a warm comfortable body leaving me. I stared off. I was laying down, but I didn't feel like I had been sleeping. I stayed where I was as the image of me pulling the trigger ran continuously through my head. Ivy walked to the door with a soft step.

She opened the door and immediately tried to close it. A foot jammed before she could close it completely.

"I should have checked the peek hole." She talked to the visitor with irritation.

"It's probably a good idea for the future." I heard the voice of Batman speaking quietly. Ivy opened the door and pulled him inside, locking the door behind her. She sat on the stool at one of her counters and folded her arms.

"What?" She looked at him with suspicion and irritation on her face. "I'm a little busy." Batman looked over at me.

"I understand." He looked down and shuffled uncomfortably until he was leaning on the wall.

"I wanted to thank you."

"For what?" She asked flatly.

"For taking out one of the city's biggest threats." Ivy scoffed.

"I _am_ one of the city's biggest threats."

"Indeed. I wish that perhaps that portion of your history did not exist." He cleared his throat. "You did however leave some traces of what is very uniquely your style where we found the Joker. Your plants are very impressive."

"Well great, Batman. I'm glad that you enjoyed the flowers." She replied sarcastically. "Anyway, I didn't take him out."

"You can be honest, Miss Ivy. This gratitude is only between these walls."

"Fine. You're very happy that he's gone. Are we done?"

"I do have a proposition for you."

"What? What could you possibly offer me?"

"Well, I have many connection, you see. I have several in fact, at Gotham University. Being that you seem to be having a change of heart, I am prepared to get rid of your record and secure you a very prestigious position at the university. You could legally have any research material that your heart desired. You could have assistants and a lab and potentially anything else that you would need. And you wouldn't need to worry about the police ever again. Of course, your salary would be quite impressive, if that's something that interests you." Batman gestured with his last sentence. When Ivy didn't respond immediately, Batman leaned back on the wall. Ivy stayed still for several minutes before rising from the stool and beginning to slowly pace around the room.

"I am unsure of if I should be insulted, Batman." She walked by me and slowly ran her fingers over my hair. I continued to stare off absently. I watched her walk away.

"Let's ignore the fact that you seem to think that my motivation is monetary. It may be the motivation of many in my field, but I have bigger interests." She stopped to toy with some of her plants. She chose one pot and lifted it carefully and walked it over to Batman.

"Do you see this plant, Batman? This plant is more rare than any gemstone or banknote. It is the last of its kind anywhere on Earth and is nearly impossible to retrieve seeds. Would I have access to plants such as this one legally, Batman? I seriously doubt it." She walked back to the counter and set the plant down and began searching labels on some small canisters. She chose one and walked back to him.

"People nearly killed them all with their selfish lifestyles. The conditions in its native environment were perfect and precise. Then, someone found some gold and coal in a nearby mountain. The machinery, people and pollution that came in quickly shattered the environment. This plant was one of the many casualties. Many native insects and animals are also listed as now extinct there." She opened the canister and showed it to him.

"These are seeds from that plant. I took the plant off of a military transportation truck where they were freezing the plants. It was nearly dead. I had to build an environment for that plant. It survived Batman. Indeed, it thrived so much that it gave me seeds. Your government nearly killed it off." She put the canister back on the table and sat back on her stool.

"This is my passion, Batman. No University lab can come close to this. This loft is filled with stories like that. All around you, you can find the last of this or the only of that and all are thriving."

"Everything indeed." Batman replied slyly looking not so inconspicuously in my direction. Ivy took a deep breath.

"I told you Batman, that I did not kill the Joker." Her voice sounded tired. Batman moved from the wall and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched at first, but did not move him away.

"I am confidant that you can make anything in this room thrive." She hummed quickly in response to him. After a few moments of her looking at nothing ahead of her, Ivy shrugged off the hand and walked to me. She knelt at the side of the bed and began to stroke my hair again.

"I once had an island, you know. It was amazing. No one knew about it. No one could disturb my home, my paradise. I was so happy. I could almost forget what the rest of you humans were doing beyond my shores. I was living a dream." She began to stroke my cheek instead.

"But, I was found eventually. My paradise was destroyed. People ruined everything again. I thought that we were unfindable. I thought that we were safe. But we weren't. So I came here. And I am angry, Batman. I was so very angry for so long." She kissed my cheek quickly before resuming stroking my hair.

"Lucky for all of you, there was something that fell into my life that eased the fire just a bit." She got up and began her slow pacing again.

"One of my biggest headaches is finally gone, Batman. At least in one battle, I've won. And the rest of this place will be my legacy, if I can help it. Maybe I can be a Jane Appleseed of sorts. But I need to keep them away from people." Ivy stopped in front of Batman.

"If you are making offers Batman, offer me my island paradise. I've grown tired of dealing with all of you and I am positively sick with that damned asylum. I am only trying to make things right, to give some retribution to those who deserve it."

"You chose a poor path to teach them a lesson. What you do is more than illegal."

"Batman, how do you legally show someone who is in a position of power, untouchable, that they are wrong?" She was calm and steady. Batman did not speak.

"Exactly, Batman. Exactly. But I'm done now. The futility eventually catches up with you. I'll tell you what, Batman. Find me a place somewhere far away from this steel hell where I can be alone with the things that I love. Give me that in return for the Joker and you'll never see me again."

"I will miss you, believe it or not. What people like you do is not right, but it keeps life interesting. And while you had a very poor way of going about it, you do have a very noble cause."

I wanted to be near Ivy then, so I finally made myself move. I got up and Ivy started towards me and she caught me as I felt myself fall.

"Good evening, Harley."

"Hiya, Bats." I found that I sounded weak and worn. He walked to me.

"I know that it was difficult Harley, but I want you to know that what you did was not a bad thing. And all of these awful feelings will become less with time, I promise."

"Yeh, well I uh...hmm." I didn't feel like replying. Instead, I laid my head on Ivy's shoulder and nestled into her. Batman put a hand on my back.

"Thank you, Harley." I hummed in reply. There was almost no noise as I heard Batman's footsteps move towards the door.

"Ivy, you should keep your door locked and stay up here as much as possible. I will get you that island as quickly as possible, even if I have to buy it myself. Good luck, girls." The door closed quietly and Ivy slowly moved us both to the floor where she embraced me fully. And it was the greatest feeling that I could hope for. She loves me. She loves every little piece that I am. And I killed for her. I saved her. Shes my Ivy, and shes wrapped us both together tight forever, and I love it.

Soon, Batman, true to his word, provided us a home. A garden paradise all our own.

* * *

**_And that's it guys. I am planning a little epilogue though so stay tuned. As always, I 3 reviews and comments. _**

**_I love all of you readers!_**


	4. Paradise

**Here we go guys, the finale. I hope that you've enjoyed. (As usual, I don't own what I don't myself write and I love and appreciate all of your feedback)**

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Soon, Batman, true to his word, provided us a home. A garden paradise all our own.

Surprisingly, Batman was true to his word. I never expected a promise so grand to be kept. It has been a few months now since Batman knocked at our apartment door again three days after the first time. This time, I checked the peek hole, hoping that Batman hadn't revealed our location. Both Harley and I are wanted criminals after all. Sure enough, there stood Batman alone with a folder in his hand. I opened the door enough to let him in and locked it behind him. He handed me the folder and smiled.

"A deed for a deed." He grinned. I thumbed through the pages.

"Its in the middle of nowhere. The only people who know about it is a geological society that a friend of mine works for. It is uncharted, even to the government. The society wont intervene. I've paid them enough to keep their society in service for a long while." I wanted to say something snarky at that moment, but for what he had just given me, I could only come out with gratitude. I shook his hand.

"We thank you. All of us."

He then helped us carry out all of my plants and environments into a large moving truck. That truck was loaded directly onto a medium sized aeroplane. Batman assured me that the pilot would not mention having assisted us. When we were about to land, I watched the greenery seem to grow and blossom in front of my eyes. The illusion made me hopeful and I locked fingers with Harley trying to suppress my anticipation.

He helped us unload all of my belongings and lead us into a pre-made metal structure that was just big enough for what I needed to put into it.

"The metal is from an area where the mining damage is minimal to the surrounding area. The company also plants forests." Batman grinned, obviously proud of himself.

"Impressive, Batman." I took my hand from Harley's to shake Batman's.

"Thank you Batman." Harley said sincerely with a smile as she hugged him. I couldn't help my chuckle in my ecstatic mood.

"Indeed, Batman. You have held up your end. Thank you. Thank you very much." I shook his hand. He smiled contently.

"Please, enjoy your lives and each other. Goodbye." And then he went away.

It has been paradise. It was just as I remembered it. This time, however, I was not alone.

I never spend a lot of time in the metal lab. It is used to be sure that my special varieties have a proper environment, but Harley and I spend our time among the tropical canopy that is everywhere. I have discovered the joy of swimming. It is refreshing to my body, but Harley's body in the water is also very refreshing to me.

There are days where we go into the branches as high as we can climb and lay with each other, teetering against the supportive body of the tree and holding each other. We aren't afraid to be so high because of this sort of unsaid agreement that we have where we either save one another or fall together.

I think that is one of the things that I love most about being here with her. We are at a place now that we don't need to speak a lot of the time. We are somewhere where we simply understand.

And when the sun sets, that too is amazing. We usually go to the shore and lay in the sand. Most of the time, we tie ourselves in knots, her legs curled into mine, her arms strewn around as she pleases. I hold onto her often because I love the way her skin feels. We long ago abandoned our rapidly tattering clothing and when her body is against me, its as if I'm laying with the softest, most plush bed of leaves. Its as if she has merged into my world where I thought no human could ever inhabit within me.

When I work, she usually sits in my lap. I don't really do much actual work anymore. I do enough to keep what I have alive and thriving. Mainly, I like to thrive with Harley.

I never intended to be the kind of person who needed someone to feel right. And its not that I have become that person, its just that Harley has grown into me. My mind is free here. I never thought that I would thank Batman. I never thought that I could ever be this content again. But here I am. And I have my dream. I have beauty all around me. I have lots of wonderful, happy energy all around me. I have paradise and a princess to share it with. I have a complete dream.

We are together through into eternity.


End file.
